Bobby Petrino

May 3, 2012

Bobby Petrino was an extremely successful football coach at Arkansas University. He had won 21 games over the last two seasons, lead the Razorbacks to its first BCS bowl game, and was looking at a potential national championship run in 2012. However, that was not enough to save him, as he was fired a few weeks ago with cause after a motorcycle accident led to revelations of an extramarital affair. It had turned out that Petrino had hired his mistress, Jessica Dorrell, to a job in the football department, and had lied to his boss following the accident, saying he had been by himself, when in fact, Dorrell was with him. Petrino had a buyout clause in his contract for $18, but he will receive none of it, and will not fight it, due to his dishonesty.

From a PR perspective, I feel that Arkansas University has handled this situation about as well as they could. They came out with all the facts as soon as they were known, and they justly fired Petrino, despite some resistance from the fan base. I feel it was the right move. I also feel they are making a right move by hiring an interim head coach for the 2012 season from within, giving them plenty of time to decide on a permanent head coach for the following season and beyond.